Coach`s Reward Is Watching Boys Improve At Sports

A small group of young boys hovers near him like bees around a hive. During the summer, it`s a daily ritual.

Some of them are there every day. Others come just once in a while. But Rich Ouellette knows them all.

Ouellette can bark out orders like a drill sergeant when members of the Lester H. White Southwest Boys Club become unruly. He also can be sympathetic. He laughs with them and shares in their sorrow.

As program director of the club for 3 1/2 years, he has become their friend.

``I`ve always enjoyed working with kids,`` said Ouellette of Lauderdale Lakes. ``I try to teach the kids what I was taught over the years. I`ve been on both sides of the fence now, and since I love sports I like to see these kids get involved, too.

``When I was a kid, I was always into sports. The guys that coached and worked with me -- showed me the ropes -- had a big influence for good on my life. I wanted to follow through with it and help other young kids in the same way.``

Now that school is out, the Southwest Boys Club is swamped with enthusiastic, energetic and eager boys 7 to 17 years old. There are planned outdoor sporting activities, indoor ping pong and pool tournaments, and classes in everything from arts and crafts to computers.

The Southwest Boys Club, directed by Al Romero, is one of four such centers in Broward County. Others include the William Slaughter unit in North Lauderdale; the Curtis Shoffner unit in Pompano Beach and the Northwest Fort Lauderdale unit.

``Boys Clubs are outlets for all the kids` energies,`` Ouellette said. ``It`s a place where they can put those energies to good uses instead of getting into trouble. For me, I`d simply much rather work with the kids than be a rich businessman.``

His current roommate and former college buddy Matt Organ is the program director for the North Lauderdale Boys Club.

``I know neither Matt nor I will get rich working the jobs we have,`` Ouellette said. ``But we get out of it more than we put in, and that means a lot. If it weren`t for this, I`d probably be working in a factory or something.``

Instead of standing behind a conveyor belt, Ouellette teaches the art of flag football to a group of zealous youngsters. He annually schedules a variety of sports tournaments, including flag football; the highlight of the summer program.

``We`re going to have a really big flag football program this summer; bigger than any since I`ve been here,`` Ouellette said. ``Shoot, we average about 160 kids a day out of our 350 members. With all those kids we should have a really big league.``

The flag football league will be divided into three age groups: Cadets (7-10), Juniors (11-13) and Intermediates/Seniors (14-17). Action will begin Monday for Cadets, Tuesday for Juniors and Thursday for the older division.

``The whole objective is to get the kids to participate in whatever we offer,`` Ouellette said. ``Like most other places we have our super little athletes, but we also have the kids who aren`t that good. Everybody gets to participate here no matter what we`re doing.``

Ouellette and Organ graduated from Southern Connecticut State College. Both majored in community recreation. They have roomed together in South Florida since they arrived.

Organ was first hired at the Southwest Boys Club. Within three months, the North Lauderdale center opened and he moved there, leaving a vacancy for Ouellette at Southwest.

The Southwest Boys Club is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. An annual membership is $4 per boy.

Besides activities, club members also are treated to free lunches provided by the city. A special group called the Day Camp Kids may arrive at 7:30 a.m. and stay until 6 p.m. For an extra $20 fee, the day campers also take trips away from the center.

``The most positive aspect of this job is getting to see the kids improve in what they do, and to watch them grow up over the years,`` Ouellette said. ``Some of these kids came in here 3 1/2 years ago and didn`t know what they were doing in our activities, but now they`re some of them are potential superstars.``

Are there any drawbacks?

``I may not be teaching them all that much, but I have given them the opportunity to help them develop their natural talents,`` he added. ``The only thing that gets to me is when we have a kid who just doesn`t want to be helped -- one who`s sour on life.